Self-aligning telescope

ABSTRACT

Embodiments of the present disclosure include self-aligning telescope control systems and self-alignment methods. In an embodiment, a telescope control system orients a telescope with respect to the celestial sphere by pointing the telescope in the direction of an alignment star or alignment area of the sky. The telescope control system images a field of view in the alignment area, and processes the images to determine the celestial coordinates of a center of the filed a field of view the alignment area. The telescope control system then maps the telescope&#39;s coordinate system to the celestial coordinate system. Once mapped, the telescope control system can advantageously slew the telescope to any desired celestial object in the viewable sky based on, for example, user selection, system recommendations, combinations of the same, or the like.

REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present disclosure relates to U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/______, filed herewith, titled “High Definition Telescope,”incorporated by reference herein.

BACKGROUND

1. Field of the Disclosure

The present disclosure relates to telescope control systems and, moreparticularly, to systems and methods for aligning and orientingtelescopes.

2. Description of the Related Art

The continuing evolution of low cost, high performance telescopes hasdecreased the complexity of finding and tracking stars, planets andother celestial objects. Thus, the popularity of amateur astronomy hasincreased. Some conventional telescope systems are easy to use and arecapable of finding and tracking stars and other celestial bodies oncethey are initially oriented with the celestial sphere. However, theinitial orientation is generally manual and conventional routines thatalign a telescope with a desired celestial object generally include userintervention, such as manually centering the telescope on an alignmentstar.

Often, to view or otherwise image celestial objects, measurementsobtained in a telescope's coordinate system (expressed, for example, inaltitude and azimuth coordinates) are converted into the celestialcoordinate system (expressed, for example, in right ascension anddeclination coordinates) and vice versa. Such conversions depend atleast in part on the initial orientation of the telescope. For example,the initial orientation of the telescope may be set by manually pointingthe telescope in a predetermined direction, such as north or south, andleveling the telescope such that it points toward the horizon. When atelescope processing system knows the current date, the current time,the location of the telescope with respect to the earth, the rightascension of a desired celestial object, and the declination of thedesired celestial object, the processing system can convert the locationof the desired celestial object from the celestial coordinate system tothe telescope's coordinate system to indicate a change in altitude andazimuth that will point the telescope away from its current orientationtoward the desired celestial object. Such orientation and alignment ofthe telescope can be complicated to a less experienced user.

To attempt to remedy difficulties experienced in aligning a telescope,manufacturers have suggested aligning telescopes with the celestialsphere by randomly scanning the sky in search of bright stars. Forexample, when a telescope finds a first bright star, recognized throughfor example, user interaction, the telescope monitors changes inaltitude and azimuth as it scans for additional bright stars. Uponreceiving an indication of alignment with an additional bright star, thetelescope compares its respective altitude and azimuth measurementchanges to determine an angle between the now located two bright stars.After the telescope has recorded multiple angles between randomly foundbright stars, the collection of determined angles may produce shapesthat the telescope may recognize from, for example, data of known shapesbetween known bright stars. Once the shape is recognized, manufacturersbelieve the telescope will have sufficient information to align itselfwith the sky. However, because of many difficulties, including randomsearching with limited fields of view and potentially large comparisondata sizes, such shape-oriented alignment systems may be extraordinarilyslow and potentially inaccurate.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

Embodiments of the present disclosure include advantageous self-aligningtelescope control systems that quickly and accurately orient atelescope. For example, in an embodiment, a telescope control systemacquires at least one image of stars in an alignment area, attributesintensity values to some of the stars, determines relationships based onthe intensity values, and matches the relationships with knownrelationships about celestial bodies to quickly orient the telescopewith known celestial mappings of the sky. Once oriented, the telescopecontrol system can then slew to a desired celestial object based on, forexample, user or system selected objects. In an embodiment, thetelescope control system may slew to additional alignment areas, andquickly reorient the telescope to increase the accuracy of thetelescope's self alignment.

Certain embodiments provide self-aligning telescope control systems withadditional information such as, for example, time, date, location withrespect to the earth, celestial coordinates of an alignment star oralignment area, relative brightness of a group of stars in an alignmentarea, distances between the stars in the group of stars in the alignmentarea, patterns formed by stars in vicinity of the alignment star,combinations of the foregoing, or the like. In certain embodiments,determining a telescope's location with respect to earth may include useof a virtual location, thereby substantially avoiding often confusinginitial precision leveling techniques. For example, a telescope controlsystem may orient with respect to the horizon and/or a predeterminedcompass direction in response to receiving information from a levelsensor, an electronic compass, or the like. Such self orientationcreates a virtual location for the telescope, where the virtual locationat least roughly corresponds to a location where the telescope'sposition with respect to the horizon would be considered accuratelyleveled.

In still other embodiments, the control system may advantageouslyperform additional or alternative alignments, such as, for example,measuring a sidereal drift of an alignment star to improve the accuracyof the mapping.

Once aligned, other embodiments of the telescope control system mayadvantageously slew the telescope to view any desired celestial object,such as an object especially interesting for the particular imaging timeand imaging location. For example, an imager of the telescope controlsystem may acquire potentially high quality celestial images or data.Moreover, the telescope control system may process the image data toadvantageously increase the aesthetics of a displayed image, highlightvarious comparative data, increase the image's accuracy, sharpness,detail, contrast, or the like. Once prepared, the telescope controlsystem outputs video or other signals to one or more displays in amulti-media or other image presentation, such as an entertainment,commercial, academic, or other presentation. In certain preferredembodiments, such display comprises high definition displays, or thelike.

Also, other features and advantages of the present disclosure willbecome apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art throughconsideration of the ensuing description, the accompanying drawings, andthe appended claims. Neither this summary nor the following detaileddescription defines the scope of the disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Systems and methods which embody the various features of the disclosurewill now be described with reference to the following drawings:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a telescope control systemaccording to an embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an exemplary telescope according to anembodiment of the disclosure usable by the telescope control systemshown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary self-alignment process according to anembodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary initial orientation determinationprocess of the self-alignment process of FIG. 3, according to anembodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary field of view identification process ofthe self-alignment process of FIG. 3, according to an embodiment of thedisclosure; in the field of view identification process of FIG. 5,according to an embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 6 is an exemplary graphical representation of an alignment areaused

FIG. 7 illustrates an exemplary plate scale determination processaccording to an embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 8 illustrates an exemplary self-alignment process according toanother embodiment of the disclosure; and

FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating a high definition telescopesystem according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Embodiments of the present disclosure involve a telescope control systemthat orients a telescope with respect to the celestial sphere. To orientthe telescope, certain embodiments of the telescope control system pointthe telescope in the direction of an alignment star or alignment area ofthe sky. The telescope control system images a field of view in thealignment area, and processes the images to determine the celestialcoordinates of a point such as a center of the field of view thealignment area. The telescope control system then maps the telescope'scoordinate system to the celestial coordinate system. Once mapped, thetelescope control system can advantageously slew the telescope to anydesired celestial object in the viewable sky based on, for example, userselection, system recommendations, combinations of the same, or thelike.

In certain embodiments, the telescope control system seeks to improvethe accuracy of the foregoing self alignment procedure. For example, thetelescope control system may advantageously slew to an additionalalignment area and realign, may advantageously measure the drift of oneor more alignment stars or the desired celestial object, combinations ofthe same, or the like.

In certain embodiments, the telescope control system may alsoadvantageously determine a first orientation of the telescope withrespect to the earth. For example, the system may determine thetelescope's position with respect to the horizon and its pointingposition. For example, if the telescope is located in the northernhemisphere, its orientation with respect to a level plane and magneticnorth may be approximately determined. Given the date, time and locationof the telescope with respect to the earth, the telescope control systemcan move the telescope from its initial orientation toward a celestialobject having known celestial coordinates, such as an alignment star,group of alignment stars, alignment area, or the like. In certainembodiments, a user provides the date, time and location information. Inother embodiments, a host system or peripheral device may advantageouslyprovide at least one of the date information, the time information andthe location information.

Once aligned, the telescope control system may advantageously slew thetelescope to view any desired celestial object. Moreover, the telescopecontrol system may advantageously suggest interesting or otherwisedesired objects based on the time, date, and location of the telescope.The control system may also configure or suggest configurations for itsown processing, for the telescope, for telescope accessories such asmagnification devices, optical filters, or the like, for environmentalconcerns, or the like. The telescope control system may also employ animager to develop potentially high quality celestial images or data.Such images or data may be compiled from one or more pictures, may beresized, recolored, or the like, may be the result of a mosaic ofpictures, may be processed data such as spectral or other views, may becombined image data such as a mosaic-ed image of Jupiter with addedimages of one or more of its moons in actual or altered colors,combinations of the same, or the like. Such data and image processingmay advantageously increase the aesthetics of the displayed image, mayhighlight various comparative data, may increase the image's accuracy,sharpness, detail, contrast, or the like. Once prepared, the telescopecontrol system may advantageously output video or other signals to oneor more displays in a multi-media or image presentation. In certainpreferred embodiments, such display comprises high definition displays,or the like. For example, such display may comprise entertainment,academic or other presentations that may be self selected based onprograms like “Tonight's Best” commercially available from MeadeInstruments Corporation of Irvine, Calif., may be selected through userinteraction, combinations of the same, or the like.

The telescope control system may also be located in a first area ordevice, the telescope may be located in the same or other area ordevice, and the presentation may be located in one of the disclosedareas or devices or in additional other areas or devices. For example,the telescope control system may be comprised of computer softwareexecuting on a computing device such as a laptop, and controllingelectronic controls of a remotely located telescope, such as, forexample, a personal, academic, or governmental telescope. The image datamay be displayed on the computing device, or displayed on remote displaydevices such as, for example, high definition display devices located ina personal, entertainment, academic, or other viewing setting.

To facilitate an understanding of the disclosure, the remainder of thedetailed description references the drawings, wherein like referencenumbers are referenced with like numerals throughout. Moreover, thedrawings show, by way of illustration, specific embodiments or processesin which the disclosure may be practiced. The present disclosure,however, may be practiced without the specific details or advantages orwith certain alternative equivalent components and methods to thosedescribed herein. In other instances, well-known components and methodshave not been described in detail so as not to unnecessarily obscureaspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a telescope system 100 accordingto an embodiment of the disclosure. The telescope system 100 includes anoptical system 110 configured to collect light from a subject throughoptical elements 112 and to focus the light at an image plane 114. Thetelescope system 100 also includes an electronic imager 116, an azimuthmotor 118, an altitude motor 120, a level sensor 122 and an electroniccompass 124 coupled to communication circuitry 128. In an exemplaryembodiment, the level sensor 122 comprises an accelerometer such as adual axis accelerometer, part number MXD2020E/F, available from MEMSIC,Inc. of North Andover, Mass. In addition, or in another exemplaryembodiment, the electronic compass 124 comprises, for example, amagneto-inductive sensor, part number SEN-L, available from PrecisionNavigation, Inc. of Santa Rosa, Calif., although an artisan willrecognize from the disclosure herein other level sensing devices couldbe used.

The electronic imager 116 is configured to generate an electronic imageof the light from the subject. Thus, the electronic imager 116 ispositioned with respect to the image plane 114 so as to receive afocused optical image of the subject. In certain embodiments, theelectronic imager 116 comprises, for example, a charge coupled device(CCD) camera, a complimentary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) imagearray, or the like. In certain embodiments, the electronic imager 116includes a memory device 129 for storing images generated by theelectronic imaging device 116. The memory device 129 may comprise, forexample, a removable or non-removable flash memory device, a miniaturehard-drive, or another memory device associated with digital cameras,digital camcorders, cell phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs),other computing devices, or the like.

In addition to or as an alternative to storing images in the memorydevice 129 of the electronic imager 116, the communication circuitry 128transmits data from the electronic imager 116 to a telescope control orhost system 130. The host system 130 is configured to receive imagedata, provide control signals to the azimuth and altitude motors 118,120, analyze the data, and optionally, to display images generated bythe electronic imager 116. The analysis may include, for example,identifying an alignment star or group of alignment stars andcalculating how far to rotate the azimuth motor 118 and the altitudemotor 120 to align the optical system 110, as described herein. The hostsystem 130 may be configured to interface with input devices (not shown)such as an Internet or other network connection, a mouse, a keypad orany device that allows an operator to enter data. The host system 130may also include output devices such as printers, displays or otherdevices or systems for generating hard or soft copies of images or otherdata. In certain embodiments, the host system 130 is configured tointerface with a television, such as a high-definition television, todisplay images from the electronic imager 116 thereon.

In an exemplary embodiment, the host system 130 comprises a handhelddevice. In other embodiments, the host system 130 may comprise, forexample, a computer system, a personal computer, a laptop computer, aset top box for a television, a personal digital assistant (PDA), anetwork, combinations of the same, or the like. The communicationcircuitry 128 may, for example, transmit the data to the host system 130wirelessly, through a direct electrical connection, or through a networkconnection. In certain embodiments, the communication circuitry 128comprises a universal serial bus (USB) adapter. In other embodiments,the communication circuitry 128 comprises a wireless Ethernet adapter orother network adapter.

In certain other embodiments, the host system 130 comprises a controllerhoused with the optical system 110 and/or the electronic imager 116. Forexample, the host system 130 may comprise one or more controllers,program logic, hardware, software, or other substrate configurationscapable of representing data and instructions which operate as describedherein or similar thereto. The host system 130 may also comprisecontroller circuitry, processor circuitry, digital signal processors,general purpose single-chip or multi-chip microprocessors, combinationsof the foregoing, or the like. In such embodiments, the communicationcircuitry 128 comprises a system bus or other electrical connections.

As shown in FIG. 1, in certain embodiments, the host system 130 includesan internal memory device 132 comprising, for example, random accessmemory (RAM). The host system 130 can also be coupled to an externalmemory device (not shown) comprising, for example, drives that accepthard and floppy disks, tape cassettes, CD-ROM or DVD-ROM. The internalmemory device 132 or the external memory device, or both, compriseprogram instructions 134 for aligning the optical system 110, composingimages of the subject and other functions as described herein.

In certain embodiments, the internal memory device 132 or the externalmemory device, or both, also comprise one or more databases 136including at least one database of the celestial coordinates (expressed,for example, in right ascension and declination or other well knowncoordinate systems) of known celestial objects that might be of interestto an observer and/or that are useful to align the optical system 110.For example, the database 136 may include celestial coordinates andintensities of an alignment star or a group of alignment stars. Thedatabase 136 may also define a pattern made by at least one group ofalignment stars. For example, the database 136 may include relationshipinformation for the group of alignment stars such as brightness relativeto one another, angular distances to one another, angles between eachother, combinations of the foregoing, or the like. Other exemplaryrelationships between celestial objects are discussed herein. Asdiscussed below, in certain embodiments, the host system 130 isconfigured to automatically recognize a pattern of alignment stars andcenter the optical elements 112 on a desired celestial object selectedfrom the database 136. In certain embodiments, the host system 130 alsouses information from the database 136 to drive a focus motor (notshown) to automatically focus the optical system 110 on the desiredcelestial object.

The database 136 may also include, for example, a database of thegeographical coordinates (latitude and longitude) of a large number ofgeographical landmarks. These landmarks might include known coordinatesof cities and towns, geographic features such as mountains, and mightalso include the coordinates of any definable point on the earth'ssurface whose position is stable and geographically determinable. Thus,a user can estimate the position of the optical system 110 with respectto the earth by referencing a nearby geographical landmark in thedatabase. As discussed below, in other embodiments, location informationis provided automatically from a global positioning system (GPS)receiver. In certain embodiments, the database 136 is user accessiblesuch that additional entries of particular interest to a user might beincluded.

As discussed in detail below, the host system 130 controls the azimuthmotor 118 and the altitude motor 120 to align the optical elements 112with the light from the subject. The azimuth motor 118 and the altitudemotor 120 are configured to rotate the optical system 110 in twomutually orthogonal planes (e.g., azimuth and altitude). In certainembodiments, the azimuth motor 118 and the altitude motor 120 are eachself-contained motor packages including, for example, a DC brush-typemotor, an associated electronics package on a printed circuit board, anda drive and reduction gear assembly. An artisan will recognize from thedisclosure herein that other known motor and/or servo systems can alsobe used. In certain embodiments, the azimuth motor 118 and the altitudemotor 120 are coupled to motion feedback circuitry 138, such as anoptical encoder or the like. The motion feedback circuitry 138 measuresthe actual travel of the optical system 110 in both planes. Thus, theposition of each axis (and the telescope aspect) is determinable withrespect to an initial position.

In certain embodiments, the host system 130 automatically determines anorientation of the optical elements 112 using data received through thecommunication circuitry 128 from the level sensor 122 and the electroniccompass 124. During an initial alignment, the host system 130 determinesthe orientation of the optical elements 112 with respect to the horizonbased on one or more signals received from the level sensor 122. Thisbecomes the initial altitude position. The host system also determinesthe orientation of the optical elements 112 with respect to north (e.g.,if in the northern hemisphere) or south (e.g., if in the southernhemisphere) based on one or more signals received from the electroniccompass 124. This becomes the initial azimuth position.

In certain embodiments, the communication circuitry 128 is configured tointerface with peripheral devices 140 to align the optical system 110.The peripheral devices 140 may include, for example, a GPS receiverconfigured to accurately indicate the longitude and latitude of thetelescope system 100 and/or a clock configured to accurately indicatethe date and time. It should also be understood that a GPS receiver isable to provide timing signals which can function as precision timingreference signals. Thus, coupling a GPS receiver to the telescope system100 provides not only coordinated timing data but also user positiondata from a single device. Thus, these parameters may advantageously bedetermined without manual entry.

In addition, or in other embodiments, the peripheral devices 140 mayinclude, for example, an electronic focusing system, a laser configuredto emit laser light in the direction of the subject being observed, anaudio input and/or output device, a joystick or other controllerconfigured to manually drive the azimuth motor 118 and the altitudemotor 120, a speech recognition module along with an associated audiooutput module, an automatic alignment tool (tube leveler and/or axisplanarizer), a photometer, an autoguider, a reticle illuminator, acartridge reader station (e.g., for courseware, revisions, newlanguages, object libraries, data storage, or the like), and/or anotherimager or camera that is not coupled to the optical system 110 and thatcan be used, for example, to view terrestrial objects in the vicinity ofthe telescope system 100. An artisan will recognize that some or all ofthe peripheral devices 140 may be external accessories or may be housedwith the optical system 110 and/or the electronic imager 116. An artisanwill also recognize that some or all of the peripheral devices 140 maybe coupled directly to the host system 130 rather than to thecommunication circuitry 128.

Although the host system 130 specifically and the telescope system 100in general are disclosed with reference to their preferred andalternative embodiments, the disclosure is not limited thereby. Rather,an artisan will recognize firm the disclosure herein a wide number ofalternatives for host and telescope systems 130, 100, includingalternative devices performing a portion of, one of, or combinations ofthe functions and alternative functions disclosed herein.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an exemplary telescope 200 usable by thetelescope system 100 shown in FIG. 1, according to an embodiment of thedisclosure. The telescope 200 comprises a telescope tube 210 and a mount212 configured to support and move the telescope tube 210. The telescopetube 210 houses an optical system that collects light from distantobjects through the optical elements 112 and focuses the light onto theimage plane 114 (shown in FIG. 1). In certain embodiments, theelectronic imager 116 is located within the telescope tube 210 at theimage plane 114. However, as shown in FIG. 2, in other embodiments, theelectronic imager 116 is detachably attached to the exterior of thetelescope tube 210 through a lens 214. In certain such embodiments, thelens 214 is adjustable to selectively provide additional opticalmagnification or reduction of the image provided at the image plane 114.Thus, a user or the host system 130 can change the field of view asdesired.

As discussed above, in certain embodiments the electronic imager 116comprises, for example, a CMOS image array, a CCD camera, or the like.Such imaging devices are generally more sensitive to light than thehuman eye. Thus, as shown in FIG. 2, in certain embodiments thetelescope 200 does not include an eyepiece and images of celestialobjects are viewed on a display screen (not shown). Since there is noeyepiece, the telescope 200 may not be positioned at a convenientviewing height for a user. Thus, the telescope 200 can advantageously beused without a conventional tripod and can simply be placed on theground or another stable object, further reducing the cost andcomplexity of operating the telescope 200 as compared to conventionaltelescope systems. However, in other embodiments, the optical system 110splits the light such that it can be viewed both through an eyepiece(not shown) and on a display screen.

Although not shown in FIG. 2, the electronic imager 116 may include adisplay screen for viewing images. In addition, or in other embodiments,the telescope tube 210 or mount 212 may include a display screen forviewing images generated by the electronic image 116. Such displayscreens may comprise, for example, a liquid crystal display (LCD) orsimilar device, such as those associated with digital cameras,camcorders, laptops, cell phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs),other computing devices, or the like.

The telescope tube 210 is supported by the mount 212 which facilitatesmovement of the telescope tube 110 about two orthogonal axes, an azimuthaxis 216 and an altitude axis 218. The axes 216, 218 of the mount 212,in combination, define a gimbaled support for the telescope tube 210enabling it to pivot about the azimuth axis 216 in a horizontal planeand, independently, to pivot about the altitude axis 218 through avertical plane. In certain embodiments, a user may not level the mount212 with respect to the earth. For example, the mount 212 may be tiltedforward or backward with respect to the direction of the telescope tube210. The mount may also be tipped in a perpendicular direction to thetelescope tube 210. In certain embodiments, one or more signals from thelevel sensor 122 (shown in FIG. 1) are used to measure the tip and tiltof the mount 212 with respect to a level position.

It should be noted that the telescope tube 210 is configured as areflecting-type telescope, particularly a Maksutov-Cassegrain telescope.In this regard, the form of the telescope's optical system is notparticularly relevant to practice of principles of the presentdisclosure. Thus, even though depicted as a reflector, the telescope 100of the present disclosure is suitable for use with refractor-typetelescope optical systems. The specific optical systems used might beNewtonian, Schmidt-Cassegrain, Maksutov-Cassegrain, or any otherconventional reflecting or refracting optical system configured fortelescopic use. For example, the telescope 100 may comprise a dometelescope such as are generally operated by professional astronomers.

Although not shown in FIG. 2, the telescope 200 includes the azimuthmotor 118 and the altitude motor 120 discussed above. The azimuth motor118 and the altitude motor 120 are respectively coupled to the azimuthaxis 216 and altitude axis 218 so as to pivotally move the telescopetube 210 about the corresponding axis. In certain embodiments, thealtitude motor 120 is disposed within a vertically positioned fork arm220 of the mount 212 and the azimuth motor 118 is disposed within ahorizontally positioned base 222 of the mount 212. Motor wiring isaccommodated internal to the structure of the mount 212 (including thefork arm 220 and the base 222) and the system's electronic componentsare packaged accordingly.

Although the exemplary telescope 200 is disclosed with reference to itspreferred and alternative embodiments, the disclosure is not limitedthereby. Rather, an artisan will recognize from the disclosure herein awide number of alternatives for the telescope, including optical viewingdevices including academic or governmental installations to personalmagnification devices, dome-mounted devices, all manner of telescopedevices, or the like.

FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary self-alignment process 300 according toan embodiment of the disclosure. The process 300 is usable by atelescope system, such as the telescope system 100 of FIG. 1. Thealignment process 300 comprises, in short, receiving or determining acurrent time and an approximate location of a telescope, selecting analignment area, leveling or virtually leveling the telescope(determining the orientation of the telescope with respect to earth),slewing the telescope toward an approximated location of the alignmentarea, acquiring an electronic image of a portion of the skycorresponding to the approximated location, identifying a center of acurrent field of view, and mapping the celestial coordinates of thecenter of a current field of view to the telescope's coordinate system.An artisan will recognize from the disclosure herein a wide variety ofalternate mapping procedures, including for example, identifying aparticular alignment star and using it to create the appropriatemapping, identifying a particular pattern of stars and using thatinformation to create the appropriate mapping, identifying a siderealdrift and using that information to create the appropriate mapping, orthe like.

In certain embodiments, the self-alignment process 300 moves thetelescope or adjusts any of its optical components. For example, a usermay advantageously place a telescope, such as the telescope 200 of FIG.2, on the ground or another stable object and connect it to a laptop orother computing device. The user may then be provided with a graphicaluser interface on a display screen of the laptop, for example, thatallows the user to select a celestial object from a list of celestialobjects that may be viewable from the user's location at a particulardate and time. The date, time and location of the user may be enteredinto the laptop, for example, by the user or automatically provided by aGPS receiver connected to the laptop. Once the user selects a desiredcelestial object from the list, the alignment process 300 automaticallyaligns the telescope tube 210 with the desired celestial object withoutfurther action from the user. An image of the desired celestial objectmay then be displayed, for example, on the display screen of the laptop.

Referring to FIG. 3 at block 305, the self-alignment 300 includesreceiving or determining a current time and an approximate location of atelescope. The current time includes, for example, the current date. Asdiscussed above, in certain embodiments, this information is provided bya GPS receiver. In other embodiments, the current time and/orapproximate location of the telescope may be received directly from auser, other peripheral devices, or the like. At block 310, the process300 includes selecting an alignment area used to orient a telescope withthe celestial coordinate system. In certain embodiments, the alignmentarea is selected from viewable portions of the sky based on the currenttime and the approximate location of the telescope with respect to theearth. In addition, or in other embodiments, the alignment area isselected based at least in part on a celestial object selected by a userfor viewing. For example, the alignment area may be selected because itis near the celestial object selected for imaging by the user. In otherembodiments, the telescope is simply slewed toward the sky to a locationabove an approximation of potential horizon interference (such as, forexample, above approximately 30° over the horizon) and sufficientlybelow an approximate vertical to generate accurate alignment data (suchas, for example, below 75° over the horizon).

In certain embodiments, the selected alignment area includes stars withknown celestial coordinates and relationships. For example, an alignmentarea may include an alignment star and one or more additional stars inthe vicinity of the alignment star that help identify the alignmentstar. For example, in certain embodiments, the alignment star isassociated with one or more other stars that form a recognizablepattern. Data related to such patterns may be stored and used to laterrecognize the patterns. The data may include, for example, differencesin magnitude or brightness between a group of stars in the alignmentarea, angular distances between the group of stars, a shape formed bythe group of stars, angles formed between the stars in the group,combinations of the foregoing, and the like.

At block 315, the self-alignment process 300 includes leveling orvirtually leveling the telescope. In certain embodiments, the telescopeis in an unknown orientation with respect to the earth. For example, asdiscussed above, a user may set the telescope on the ground or on atripod without precision leveling the telescope. Thus, the telescope maybe tilted in a first direction and tipped in a second direction suchthat the rotation axes of the telescope form angles with the horizon.The user may also set the telescope on the ground or on the tripodwithout pointing the telescope at any particular object (e.g., the northstar or another know celestial object) or in a known direction (e.g.,with respect to the north pole or the south pole). As discussed ingreater detail below, in certain embodiments, the telescope controlsystem is capable of determining the tip and tilt without further inputfrom the user. The telescope control system is also capable ofdetermining the direction in which the telescope is pointing, forexample, with respect to north or south. Thus, it is possible toapproximately determine the orientation of the telescope with respect tothe earth.

When the level measurement, the compass direction measurements, thecurrent time, and the location information are sufficiently accurate,then the alignment is complete and the telescope control system mayadvantageously slew to any set of celestial coordinates. However, incertain embodiments, such measurements and information includeapproximations and are not sufficiently accurate so as to allow thetelescope control system to center the telescope's field of view on aselected celestial object.

Therefore, at block 320, the self-alignment process 300 includes slewingthe telescope toward an approximated location of an alignment area. Asmentioned in the foregoing, the alignment area may be a specificalignment star or group of stars, or may simply be a location above anapproximation of potential horizon interference and sufficiently belowan approximate vertical.

At block 340, the self-alignment process 300 includes acquiring anelectronic image of a portion of the sky corresponding to theapproximated location. The electronic image, such as a digitalphotograph or the like, includes image data corresponding to thealignment area including, for example, stars in the vicinity of thealignment star. At block 350, the process includes identifying one ormore stars in the electronic image. An artisan will recognize from thedisclosure herein that other alignment mapping could be used, such as,for example, locating the celestial position of a predetermined star orpattern of stars, an error from the predetermined star or pattern ofstars, combinations of the same or the like. As discussed in detailbelow, in certain embodiments, the one or more stars are identified bycomparing relative magnitudes among the stars and/or angular distancesbetween the stars with known relative magnitudes and/or angulardistances.

However, an artisan will recognize from the disclosure herein that otherrelationships between celestial objects and other pattern recognitiontechniques can be used to analyze the image data in order to, forexample, determine the celestial coordinates of the current center ofthe telescope's field of view. For example, relationships between starsmay include brightness, and/or color (e.g., color index, spectral class,redshift). Relationships between galaxies may include, for example,size, brightness, eccentricity of ellipse, orientation angle of ellipse,structure, and/or Hubble classification. Relationships between planetarynebulae may include, for example, color, brightness, size and/or shape.Relationships between globular star clusters may include, for example,size, brightness, star count, density as a function of radial distance,and/or color index. Relationships between planets may include, forexample, size, color, diameter, brightness, and/or motion relative toadjacent stars. Relationships between minor planets and/or asteroids mayinclude, for example, brightness, color, and/or motion relative toadjacent stars. Relationships for the earth's moon at different timesinclude, for example, lunar phase, brightness, and/or diameter.Relationships for visible moons of the planets in the solar systeminclude, for example, brightness and/or position relative to the parentplanet and other moons. Relationships between double stars and/ormultiple star asterisms include, for example, brightness, angularseparation, angle of the asterism with respect to lines of rightascension/declination, angle of the asterism with respect to lines ofazimuth/elevation, and/or angles of the verticies of subsets of threestars.

Once a point or the current center of the telescope's field of view hasbeen identified, at block 360 the self-alignment process 300 includesmapping the celestial coordinates of at least one of the identifiedstars to the telescope's coordinate system, as discussed above. Thus,the alignment is complete and the telescope can be slewed to thecelestial coordinates of any desired visible celestial object.

However, in certain embodiments, it is advantageous to increase theaccuracy of the alignment by identifying another group of stars in thesame alignment area or in a different alignment area. For example, oneiteration of blocks 310, 320, 340, 350 and 360 may provide, for example,an alignment accuracy on the order of approximately one arcminutes.However, in certain embodiments, it is desirable to have an alignmentaccuracy on the order of approximately one or more arcseconds.

To increase the alignment accuracy according to certain embodiments, thetelescope or host system repeats at least blocks 310, 320, 340, 350 and360 of the self-alignment process 300 shown in FIG. 3. For example, atblock 310, the telescope control system selects a new alignment area. Inan embodiment, the new alignment area is preferably of a longer arclength from the original alignment area. For example, long arc lengthsbetween the previous alignment area and the new alignment area generallyprovide increased accuracy as compared to shorter arc lengths. While thenew alignment area according to certain embodiments is closer thanapproximately 130° from the previous alignment area, and according toother embodiments is within the same field of view of the telescope asthe previous alignment area, in certain embodiments the new alignmentarea is advantageously selected at an arc length of approximately 130°from the previous alignment area.

FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary initial orientation determinationprocess 315 of the self-alignment process 300 of FIG. 3, according to anembodiment of the disclosure. The initial orientation determinationprocess 315 measures the difference between the direction that thetelescope is pointing relative to the horizon in one plane and a compassdirection in another plane. At block 410, the process 315 includesreceiving a first signal from a level sensor. The level sensor ispositioned with respect to the telescope such that it indicates when thetelescope is approximately level with the horizon. In certainembodiments, additional measurements increase accuracy. In suchembodiments, at block 420, the process 315 includes rotating thetelescope about 180° about an azimuth axis. At block 430, the process315 includes receiving a second signal from the level sensor. By takinglevel measurements about 180° apart, errors in the direction above thehorizon cancel, at least partially, with errors in the direction belowthe horizon. Thus, an accurate measurement of tilt, as discussed above,can be acquired. At block 432, in certain embodiments, the process 315includes rotating the telescope about 90° about the azimuth axis. Atblock 434, the process 315 includes receiving a third signal form thelevel sensor. By taking a level measurement about 90° from the otherlevel measurements, an accurate measurement of the tip, as discussedabove, can be acquired. Thus, the virtual location of the telescope withrespect to the earth is determined.

At block 440, the process 315 includes receiving a fourth signal from anelectronic compass. As discussed above, the electronic compass ispositioned with respect to the telescope such that it indicates thedirection that the telescope is pointing in the azimuth plane withrespect to magnetic north, for example. Once the orientation of thetelescope with respect to the earth (e.g., its tip, tilt and directionwith respect to magnetic north) has been measured, the telescope can berotated in azimuth and/or elevation to point at a selected position (atleast approximately) in the celestial coordinate system

FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary field of view identification 350 processof the self-alignment process 300 of FIG. 3, according to an embodimentof the disclosure. Moreover, FIG. 6 is an exemplary graphicalrepresentation of an alignment area used in the field of viewidentification process of FIG. 5. Referring generally to FIGS. 5 and 6,the process 350 includes selecting a group of stars in the electronicimage at block 510. In certain embodiments, a predetermined number ofbright stars or stars having the greatest magnitude relative to otherstars in the electronic image are selected. In certain embodiments,approximately two to five of the brightest stars in an electronic imageare selected for pattern recognition. As shown in FIG. 6, an alignmentarea 600 comprises a plurality of stars including, for example, a firstalignment star 610 and a second alignment star 612. For illustrativepurposes, a potential exemplary field of view 613 of an electronic imageis shown within the alignment area 600. In the example shown in FIG. 6,an attempt is made to slew the telescope toward the alignment area 600such that the alignment star 612 is in the center, for example, of thefield of view 613. However, due to approximations in factors such as thetelescope's initial orientation with respect to the horizon and north(or south), the current time, the telescope's position or virtualposition with respect to the earth, combinations of the foregoing, andthe like, the alignment star is not within the field of view 613. Thetelescope control system can still determine its orientation byidentifying one or more stars in the field of view, such as, forexample, stars 614, 616, 618, 620, 622 and relating their positions inthe field of view 613 to their to their known celestial coordinatevalues.

For example, at block 512, the process 350 includes comparing themagnitudes of the stars in the group (e.g., stars 614, 616, 618, 620,622). The perceived magnitude of a given star may change over time orwhen acquiring images using different imaging devices. For example,factors such as atmospheric conditions, lighting conditions,combinations of the foregoing, and the like, can affect the perceived ormeasured magnitude of a star. Thus, it is difficult to identify stars orpatterns of stars by their absolute magnitudes. However, since theelectronic image acquires image data for the stars 614, 616, 618, 620,622 at the same time, using the same imaging device, the change ordifference in magnitude between each of the three stars 614, 616, 618,620, 622 remains substantially constant and can be used for patternrecognition.

At block 514, the process according to certain embodiments includesmeasuring angular distances between the stars 614, 616, 618, 620, 622 inthe selected group. In certain embodiments, the angular distance from agiven star is measured to each star in the group that is less brightthan itself. Thus, for example, the system may determine that the star614 is the brightest star in the field of view 613 and may measure theangular distances (shown as solid lines) from the star 614 to the otherstars 616, 618, 620, 622 in the group. Then, the system may determinethat the star 616 is the next brightest star in the field of view 613and may measure the angular distances (shown as dashed lines) from thestar 616 to the stars 618, 620, 622. The system may repeat this processfor the other stars 618, 620, 622 in the selected group. An artisan willrecognize that in other embodiments the relative magnitudes of the stars614, 616, 618, 620, 622 and/or the angular distances between the stars614, 616, 618, 620, 622 can be measured in any order.

The plate scale of the field of view 613 is used to measure the angulardistances between the stars 614, 616, 618, 620, and 622 in the selectedgroup. The plate scale relates the size of the imager detector(generally measured in either pixels or physical units such asmillimeters) to the angular dimensions of the field of view (generallymeasured in units such as arcseconds or arcminutes). Thus, for example,if the number of pixels (both vertically and horizontally) between thestar 614 and the star 616 are known, the plate scale of the detector canbe used to convert the number of pixels into an angular distance thatcan be compared to know angular distances between known stars in thealignment area 600.

In certain embodiments, the plate scale is determined before a telescopeand/or imaging device is provided to a user. Thus, plate scale valuescan be stored in the telescope system for use during alignmentprocedures. In addition, or in other embodiments, a user may enter platescale values into the telescope control system, may acquire them fromthe Internet or the like, for use during alignment procedures. Asdiscussed in detail below with reference to FIG. 7, in certainembodiments, the telescope system is configured to determine plate scalevalues. By self-determining the plate scale data, the telescope controlsystem of FIG. 7 can advantageously continue to perform self-alignmenteven when electronic imaging devices are interchanged or the plate scaleis otherwise unknown or altered.

At block 516, the process 350 includes identifying one or more stars inthe group based on at least one of the relative magnitudes and theangular distances. For example, in certain embodiments, the telescopesystem searches portions of a database corresponding to the selectedalignment area for a set of stars having magnitudes relative to oneanother that match or are similar to the measured relative magnitudes ofthe group of stars in the electronic image. Once a match is found, thestored celestial coordinates relating to the match are read from thedatabase, and the positioning of the matched star or stars within thefield of view can be used to specifically identify celestial coordinatesof the center of the current field of view of the telescope, therebymapping the telescope's coordinate system to the celestial sphere.

FIG. 7 illustrates an exemplary plate scale determination process 700according to an embodiment of the disclosure. At block 710, the process700 includes acquiring a first electronic image. At block 712, theprocess 700 comprises slewing a telescope a predetermined amount inelevation. At block 714, the process 700 includes acquiring a secondelectronic image. At block 716, the process 700 includes slewing thetelescope a predetermined amount in azimuth. At block 716, the process700 includes acquiring a third electronic image.

At block 720, the process 700 includes measuring vertical and horizontalchanges in one or more stars between the images. Thus, for a givenchange in elevation, a star in the first image will change a measurablenumber of pixels in the vertical direction between the first electronicimage and the second electronic image. Also, for a given change inazimuth, the star in the second image will change a measurable number ofpixels in the horizontal direction. At block 722, the process 700includes calculating the plate scale based on the observed change in theposition of the one or more stars between the images. Thus, the numberof arcseconds per pixel in either direction can be measured and used todetermine, for example, the angular distances between the stars 614,616, 618, 620, 622 shown in FIG. 6.

After measuring the plate scale, the first, second or third electronicimage can then be used, for example, to recognize the pattern of stars614, 616, 618, 620, 622 in the field of view 613 and map their celestialcoordinates with the coordinate system of the telescope, as describedherein. For example, in certain embodiments, a telescope system acquiresa first image in an alignment area, adjusts the azimuth and elevation ofthe telescope predetermined amounts, acquires a second image in thealignment area, calculates the plate scale, and uses the second image toidentify one or more stars. An artisan will also recognize from thedisclosure herein that fewer or more electronic images can be acquired.For example, in certain embodiments, a telescope system may acquire onlytwo images that are displaced from one another in both elevation andazimuth.

While certain embodiments for aligning telescopes have been describedabove, other embodiments within the scope of the disclosure will occurto those skilled in the art. For example, in certain embodiments,telescope alignment can be achieved by measuring the drift of one ormore stars as taught in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/771,385,filed Jan. 26, 2001, by Baun et al., which is hereby incorporated hereinin its entirety.

For example, FIG. 8 illustrates an exemplary self-alignment 800 processaccording to another embodiment of the disclosure. At block 810, theprocess 800 includes leveling or virtually leveling a telescope. Thetelescope may be virtually aligned with the horizon using, for example,the process 315 discussed above in relation to FIG. 4. At block 812,once the orientation of the telescope with respect to the horizon hasbeen measured, the process 800 includes slewing the telescope to alocation sufficiently above the horizon so as to avoid atmosphericinterference near the horizon. Atmospheric interference may include, forexample, pollution or light interference mom nearby cities or towns. Incertain embodiments, the telescope is slewed in a range betweenapproximately 30° and approximately 75° above the horizon.

At block 814, the process 800 includes acquiring two or more time-spacedimages of the sky. As time passes, the stars have an apparent path thatarcs across the sky due to the rotation of the earth. At block 816, theprocess 800 includes deriving the declination of at least one star(e.g., the celestial coordinates of the at least one star are previouslyunknown) in the two or more images and the (virtual) latitude of thetelescope. The two or more images are compared to determine the arc orapparent path of at least one star. The declination of the star isrelated to the radius of the star's arc across the sky. Since thedeclination corresponds to latitude projected on the sky, thetelescope's (virtual) latitude can be derived from the declinationmeasurement without knowing before hand the celestial coordinates of thestar.

At block 818, the process 800 includes determining additional alignmentdata. For example, in certain embodiments, the telescope systemidentifies a star in at least one of the time-spaced images and maps theknown celestial coordinates of the identified star to the telescope'scoordinate system. In certain such embodiments, the telescope systemuses the exemplary process 350 discussed above in relation to FIG. 5 toidentify one or more stars in at least one of the images. However,rather than searching portions of a database corresponding to analignment area, the telescope system searches portions of the databasecorresponding to the declination derived at block 816.

As another example, in certain embodiments, the (virtual) latitude ofthe telescope is used to determine how far to adjust the telescope'selevation such that the telescope can be slewed to the celestial pole.The declination of the telescope is then increased along a line ofconstant right ascension the calculated distance. Once pointing at thecelestial pole, the telescope system estimates the local sidereal timeby measuring a rotation angle with respect to zero-hour sidereal time ofa predetermined pattern of stars near the celestial pole. In certainsuch embodiments, the telescope system then uses the exemplary process350 discussed above in relation to FIG. 5 to identify one or more starsin at least one of the images used to derive the declination. However,rather than searching portions of a database corresponding to analignment area, the telescope system searches portions of the databasecorresponding to the estimated local sidereal time.

Although the self-alignment process 300 is disclosed with reference toits preferred and alternative embodiments, including sub-embodiments ofFIGS. 4-6, the disclosure is not intended to be limited thereby. Rather,a skilled artisan will recognize from the disclosure herein a widenumber of alternatives. For example, a telescope system according tocertain embodiments of the invention can be aligned by tracking a knownobject using an imaging device. With little or no prior information onthe telescope's location with respect to the earth or position relativeto a mount, the telescope can be slewed by a user to a known object.Alternatively, the user may identify to the telescope system an objectin the field of view.

Using an imager to measure relative changes in azimuth and elevationwith time, the telescope commences to command motors as necessary totrack the object. Over a period of time, changes in azimuth andelevation (e.g., delta Az (dAz/dt) and delta El (dEl/dt)) may be usedalong with the object's known celestial coordinates (e.g., rightascension and declination) to solve for the telescope's effectivevirtual latitude and local sidereal time. The telescope's effectivevirtual latitude and local sidereal time allow subsequent accuratepointing and tracking by the telescope of arbitrary objects. As theobject is tracked for longer periods of time, the quality of thealignment improves.

In addition or in other embodiments, the telescope system is aligned byapproximating the location and position of the optical system relativeto a mount and measuring the drift of an object having a relatively highdAz/dt and dEl/dt. In certain such embodiments, the approximate locationand position of the optical system relative to a mount is automaticallydetermined by sensors or is entered by the user. The scope is thenautomatically pointed to a location in the sky where a celestialobject's dAz/dt and dEl/dt are relatively high. By observing the objectover time, the deviation of the observed dEl/dt and dAz/dt from theprediction based on the initial approximate alignment allows thealignment to be refined.

In other alternative embodiments, for example, a telescope systemcomprising an imager uses a predetermined search pattern to an alignmentstar or a group of alignment stars. For example, in certain embodimentsa spiral search pattern is used to move a telescope in increasinglywider circles as images are acquired and analyzed to identify a group ofstars, as discussed herein.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating a high definition telescopesystem 900 according to an embodiment of the disclosure. The system 900includes a microprocessor 910, a telescope system 912, and a highdefinition display 914. In certain embodiments, the telescope 912comprises the telescope system 100 shown in FIG. 1. The microprocessor910 comprises, by way of example, program logic or substrateconfigurations representing data and instructions, which operate asdescribed herein. In other embodiments, the microprocessor 910 cancomprise controller circuitry, processor circuitry, processors, generalpurpose single-chip or multi-chip microprocessors, digital signalprocessors, embedded microprocessors, microcontrollers, and the like. Incertain embodiments, the microprocessor 910 comprises a desktop orlaptop computer configured to automatically align the telescope 912 asdescribed herein.

The telescope 912 includes a high definition imager 920 configured toacquire electronic images of the celestial objects. The microprocessor910 may process the electronic images from the high definition imager920 for pattern recognition and alignment as discussed herein. Themicroprocessor 910 may also format the electronic images and providevideo data and audio data to the high definition display 914. In certainembodiments, the video data is provided to the high definition display914 through component video inputs 916.

Exemplary resolutions for the high definition display 914 include, forexample, 1920×1080 (interlaced), 1280×720 (progressive scan) and1920×1080 (progressive scan). However, an artisan will recognize fromthe disclosure herein that other resolutions can also be used, includinghigher resolutions or lower resolutions such as those associated withtelevisions not generally considered high definition. As discussedabove, in certain embodiments imaging devices are generally moresensitive to light than the human eye, thus comparatively low resolutiondevices can increase the definition and quality of the electronic imagesdisplayed on the high definition display 914.

The telescope 912 also includes a communication protocol microprocessor918, a motor control microprocessor 922, a sensor pack 924, and anoptical system modifier 926. The communication protocol microprocessor918 is configured to handle data communication between the telescope 912and the microprocessor 910 through, for example, an Ethernet connection.In certain embodiments, the communication microprocessor 918 isconfigured to handle data over a wireless network connection, as isknown in the art. In certain embodiments, the communication protocolmicroprocessor 918 uses a standard protocol such as TCP/IP or the like.The high definition imager 920 is configured to generate electronicimages of subjects. In certain embodiments, the high definition imager920 comprises, for example, a charge coupled device (CCD) camera, acomplimentary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) image array, or the like.

The motor control microprocessor 922 is configured to slew the telescopein azimuth and elevation as described herein. The sensor pack 924 mayinclude, for example, a GPS receiver configured to accurately indicatethe longitude and latitude of the telescope system 100, a clockconfigured to accurately indicate the date and/or time (e.g., an atomictime standard), a level sensor, an electronic compass, environmentalsensors (e.g., a moisture sensor, a dew sensor, a rain sensor, a cloudsensor, a temperature sensor, etc.), an additional “all sky” imager witha field of view in excess of 90 degrees, security sensors, proximitysensors, motion sensors, power supply low voltage sensors, stow orlocked sensors, motion limit sensors, combinations of the foregoing, andthe like. In certain embodiments, the sensor pack 924 is configured toactivate a protection system. For example, the sensor pack 924 mayprovide information used to automatically cover or close the telescope912 during adverse weather conditions. As another example, the sensorpack 924 may provide information used to activate a dew heater to heatleading elements in the optical system to prevent or reduce condensationon the optics.

The optical system modifier 926 is configured to interchange relayoptics in the optical system of the telescope 912 to adjustcharacteristics such as focal length, bandpass response, aperture ratio,combinations of the foregoing, and the like. In certain embodiments, theoptical system modifier 926 is configured to interchange opticalcomponents such as filters (e.g., solar, red, green, blue, or selectedspectral emission lines), lenses and the like. In certain embodiments,the system 900 automatically selects the optical elements used by theoptical system modifier 912. In addition, or in other embodiments, auser can select the optical elements used by the optical system modifier926 and/or can override the optical elements selected by the system 900.

The system 900 enhances the experience of observing celestial objects byallowing a user to quickly and easily select celestial objects from alist, allowing a system to automatically determined celestial objects toview, or allowing a user to simply enter celestial coordinates and viewthe celestial objects on the high definition display 914. For example,the microprocessor 910 may provided the user with a list of recommendedcelestial objects or events to view on a particular night at aparticular geographical location. The objects or events may include, forexample, planets, satellites, moons, stars, the sun, meteors, comets,constellations, galaxies, star systems, man-made satellites, or anyother celestial object or event. In certain embodiments, the userselects a celestial event or object from the list and the microprocessor910 aligns the telescope with the selected celestial event or object asdescribed herein. The microprocessor 910 may determine what field ofview to use for the selected celestial object and which portions of theselected object or event to display. The microprocessor 910 may overlaytext on the images to identify certain features. The microprocessor 910may also select and/or control other imaging parameters such asfocusing, filtering, zoom, diffraction, selection of a portion of aspectrum (e.g., when used with spectroheliography), combinations of theforegoing, and the like. The microprocessor 912 can then acquire imagesof the selected celestial objects and display the images on the highdefinition display 914.

In certain embodiments, the microprocessor 914 creates a mosaic ofseveral images having relatively small fields of view to create an imagehaving a larger field of view. In addition, or in other embodiments, themicroprocessor 914 combines images having varying fields of view and/ordifferent resolutions to illustrate different portions of a celestialobject. For example, the microprocessor 910 may be configured to acquirea first image of Jupiter at a field of view sufficient to all or aportion of Jupiter. However, one or more of Jupiter's moons may not bevisible or may not have a desired resolution when using such a field ofview. Thus, the microprocessor 910 may be configured to image one ormore of Jupiter's moons using other fields of view and superimpose theimages of the moons with the image of Jupiter to enhance the experienceof viewing Jupiter.

As another example, the microprocessor 910 may acquire a first image ofJupiter using a long exposure time to capture details of one or more ofJupiter's moons and a second image of Jupiter using a shorter exposuretime to capture features of Jupiter. The microprocessor 910 can thensuperimpose the higher resolution images of the moons from the firstimage onto the lower resolution image of Jupiter from the second image.In addition, or in other embodiments, the microprocessor 914 isconfigured to process different portions of an image with differentcharacteristics. For example, the microprocessor 914 may acquire asingle image of Jupiter and its moons, remove Jupiter from the image,process the image so as to enhance the resolution of the moons (e.g., byincreasing the contrast, brightness, etc.), and superimpose Jupiter backinto the image. Other methods of enhancing the features of portions ofan image will occur to those skilled in the art from the disclosureherein.

In certain embodiments, the microprocessor 910 is located at a remotelocation from the telescope 912. For example, the telescope 912 may betemporarily or permanently located outdoors while the microprocessor 910may be located in a home with the high definition display 914 or inanother building. In certain such embodiments, the telescope 912 may becoupled to a light source (not shown), such as a laser pointer or thelike, configured to point towards user selected celestial objects. Thus,a user may advantageously view the celestial objects on the highdefinition display 914 and also observe the celestial objects with thenaked eye, for example, as identified by the laser pointer, furtherenhancing the experience of observing the celestial objects.

In certain embodiments, the microprocessor 910 and/or high definitiondisplay is located in a different city, state or country than thetelescope. For example, the telescope 914 may be a dome telescope orother type of telescope located remotely from the microprocessor 910such that it is nighttime at the location of the telescope 912 when itis daytime at the location of the microprocessor 910. Thus, a user canview images during the day on the high definition display 914 ofcelestial events occurring at night in another part of the world.Advantageously, schools such as universities, for example, can share theuse of their telescope at night with other schools in other parts of theworld that desire to display celestial events during daytime classes. Incertain embodiments, the telescope 912 is accessible over the Internetor other networks, including by way of example, dedicated communicationlines, telephone networks, wireless data transmission systems, two-waycable systems, customized computer networks, interactive kiosk networks,automatic teller machine networks, interactive television networks, andthe like.

In certain embodiments, the microprocessor 910 is configured to provideaudio/visual presentations of the selected celestial objects or events.The audio may include, for example, pre-recorded or user narrationsdescribing celestial objects being displayed on the high definitiondisplay 914. In addition, or in other embodiments, the audio may includemusic selected randomly, selected by a user, or selected automaticallybased at least in part on the particular celestial object beingdisplayed on the high definition display 914. The audio may alsoinclude, for example, narration and background music. Thus, theexperience of observing celestial objects is further enhanced. Incertain other embodiments, the telescope 912 can be configured to beself-stowing and weatherproof.

While certain embodiments of the disclosures have been described, theseembodiments have been presented by way of example only, and are notintended to limit the scope of the disclosures. Indeed, the novelmethods and systems described herein may be embodied in a variety ofother forms; furthermore, various omissions, substitutions and changesin the form of the methods and systems described herein may be madewithout departing from the spirit of the disclosures. The accompanyingclaims and their equivalents are intended to cover such forms ormodifications as would fall within the scope and spirit of thedisclosures.

1. A method for self-aligning a telescope with a celestial object, themethod comprising: acquiring approximate alignment data relating to anorientation of a telescope; slewing the telescope toward an approximatedlocation of an alignment area based at least in part on the approximateallurement data; acquiring an electronic image of a portion of the skycorresponding to the approximated location; identifying one or morecelestial objects in the electronic image using a group of celestialobjects within the electronic image; and mapping information related tothe celestial coordinates of at least one of the identified celestialobjects to the telescope's coordinate system.
 2. The method of claim 1,wherein the electronic image comprises a plurality of electronic images.3. The method of claim 1, wherein identifying one or more celestialobjects in the electronic image comprises: selecting the group ofcelestial objects in the electronic image; measuring one or morerelationships between the celestial objects in the group; and comparingthe one or more relationships between the celestial objects in the groupwith known relationships corresponding to known celestial objects in thealignment area.
 4. The method of claim 3, wherein measuring the one ormore relationships between the celestial objects in the group comprisescomparing the magnitudes of the celestial objects in the group.
 5. Themethod of claim 3, wherein measuring the one or more relationshipsbetween the celestial objects in the group comprises measuring angulardistances between the celestial objects in the group.
 6. The method ofclaim 5, wherein measuring the angular distances comprises relating thenumber of pixels between the celestial objects in the electronic imageto the plate scale of the electronic image.
 7. The method of claim 6,further comprising automatically calculating the plate scale of theelectronic image by slewing the telescope a predetermined amount inazimuth and elevation and measuring a change in pixels in the electronicimage.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein the approximate alignment datacomprises portions of the sky calculated to be above the telescope'shorizon for the current time, the current date and approximated locationof the telescope.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein the approximatealignment data comprises at least one of a current time, a current dateand an approximate location of a telescope.
 10. The method of claim 9,wherein the approximate alignment data comprises a location of acelestial object selected for viewing by a user.
 11. The method of claim9, wherein the approximate alignment data comprises at least one of thecurrent time, the current date and the approximate location of thetelescope from a global positioning system.
 12. The method of claim 1,further comprising virtually leveling the telescope.
 13. The method ofclaim 12, wherein virtually leveling the telescope comprises: receivinga first signal from a level sensor; rotating the telescope approximately180° about an azimuth axis; receiving a second signal from the levelsensor; and comparing the first signal and the second signal todetermine a level reading in a first direction.
 14. A method forself-aligning a telescope with a celestial object, the methodcomprising: slewing telescope toward an approximated location of analignment area; acquiring an electronic image of a portion of the skycorresponding to the approximated location; identifying one or morecelestial objects in the electronic image; mapping information relatedto the celestial coordinates of at least one of the identified celestialobjects to the telescope's coordinate system; virtually leveling thetelescope including: receiving a first signal from a level sensor,rotating the telescope approximately 180° about an azimuth axis,receiving a second signal from the level sensor, and comparing the firstsignal and the second signal to determine a level reading in a firstdirection; rotating the telescope approximately 90° about the azimuthaxis; receiving a third signal from the level sensor, and in response tothe third signal, determining a level reading in a second direction,wherein the second direction is approximately orthogonal to the firstdirection.
 15. The method of claim 14, further comprising receiving afourth signal from an electronic compass.
 16. A telescope control systemcomprising instructions capable of acquiring an estimated alignment;acquiring an electronic image of at least one celestial object using theestimated alignment, determining an orientation of an optical systemwith respect to the earth's horizon in response to one or more signalsfrom a level sensor, and determining the orientation of the opticalsystem witty respect to a celestial sphere by identifying celestialcoordinates of the at least one celestial object in the electronic imageusing a plurality of celestial objects in the electronic image.
 17. Thetelescope control system of claim 16, wherein the optical system isconfigured to focus light from a field of view onto an imaging plane andwherein an imager is configured to acquire the electronic image of thelight.
 18. The telescope control system of claim 16, further configuredto determine the orientation of the optical system in response to one ormore signals from an electronic compass.
 19. The telescope controlsystem of claim 16 stored on a computing device selected from the groupcomprising a handheld device, a laptop computer, a desktop computer, anda television set top box.
 20. A method for aligning a telescope, themethod comprising: acquiring a first telescope orientationapproximation; acquiring an electronic image of an alignment area of thesky chosen using the first telescope orientation approximation;selecting a group of celestial objects in the electronic image;measuring one or more relationships between the celestial objects in thegroup; comparing the one or more relationships between the celestialobjects in the group with known relationships corresponding to knowncelestial objects substantially near the alignment area; and mappinginformation related to the celestial coordinates of at least one of theknown celestial objects to the telescope's coordinate system.
 21. Themethod of claim 20, wherein measuring the one or more relationshipscomprises comparing the magnitudes of the celestial objects in thegroup.
 22. The method of claim 20, wherein measuring the one or morerelationships comprises measuring angular distances between thecelestial objects in the group.
 23. A telescope system comprising: meansfor selecting an alignment area of the sky based at least in part on acurrent time, a current date and an approximate location of a telescope;means for slewing the telescope toward an approximated location of thealignment area; means for electronically imaging a portion of the skycorresponding to the approximated location; and means for mapping imagedata to the telescope's coordinate system.